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Voters in Western Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district head to the polls Tuesday for a hotly contested special House election. Republicans have spent nearly $10 million to save a seat that won't exist in its current form by November. (March 12)

Republican Rick Saccone, right, and Donald Trump Jr., tour Sarris Candies during a campaign stop, Monday, March 12, 2018, in Canonsburg, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held on March 13 for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Democratic candidate Conor Lamb laughs during a rally with the United Mine Workers of America, Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg, Pa. Lamb is running against state Rep. Rick Saccone for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District in a special election on Tuesday. (Antonella Crescimbeni/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers, left, lifts up Democratic candidate Conor Lamb's hand as the crowd erupts in cheers and chants during a rally, Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg, Pa. Lamb is running against state Rep. Rick Saccone for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District in a special election on Tuesday. (Antonella Crescimbeni/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Republican Rick Saccone, right, and Donald Trump Jr., talk with chocolate workers as they take a tour of Sarris Candies during a campaign stop, Monday, March 12, 2018 in Canonsburg, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held on March 13 for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Republican Rick Saccone, center, is surrounded by cameras and reporters as he heads to the polling place to cast his ballot, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate for the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, makes his way through a crowd of media after voting in Mount Lebanon, Pa., Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Lamb is running against Republican Rick Saccone. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Republican Rick Saccone, left, and his wife Yong Saccone walks through members of the media as they head to the polling place to cast their ballots, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

A crowd gathers in the ballroom of the Youghiogheny Country Club as they await returns for Republican Rick Saccone in the special election for the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District seat vacated by Republican Tim Murphy, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

The Latest: Lamb declares victory in special House race

Voters in Western Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district head to the polls Tuesday for a hotly contested special House election. Republicans have spent nearly $10 million to save a seat that won't exist in its current form by November. (March 12)

Republican Rick Saccone, right, and Donald Trump Jr., tour Sarris Candies during a campaign stop, Monday, March 12, 2018, in Canonsburg, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held on March 13 for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic

Democratic candidate Conor Lamb laughs during a rally with the United Mine Workers of America, Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg, Pa. Lamb is running against state Rep. Rick Saccone for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District in a special election on Tuesday. (Antonella Crescimbeni/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Antonella Crescimbeni

Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers, left, lifts up Democratic candidate Conor Lamb's hand as the crowd erupts in cheers and chants during a rally, Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Waynesburg, Pa. Lamb is running against state Rep. Rick Saccone for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District in a special election on Tuesday. (Antonella Crescimbeni/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Antonella Crescimbeni

Republican Rick Saccone, right, and Donald Trump Jr., talk with chocolate workers as they take a tour of Sarris Candies during a campaign stop, Monday, March 12, 2018 in Canonsburg, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held on March 13 for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic

Republican Rick Saccone, center, is surrounded by cameras and reporters as he heads to the polling place to cast his ballot, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic

Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate for the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, makes his way through a crowd of media after voting in Mount Lebanon, Pa., Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Lamb is running against Republican Rick Saccone. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Republican Rick Saccone, left, and his wife Yong Saccone walks through members of the media as they head to the polling place to cast their ballots, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic

A crowd gathers in the ballroom of the Youghiogheny Country Club as they await returns for Republican Rick Saccone in the special election for the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District seat vacated by Republican Tim Murphy, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Keith Srakocic

Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate for the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, talks with reporters after taking his grandmother Barbara Lamb to vote in Carnegie, Pa., Tuesday, March 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Gene J. Puskar

Supporter of Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate for the March 13 special election in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District, Judy Kramer of Bavington, Pa., arrives early for Lamb's election night party in Cecil, Pa., Tuesday, March 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on the special election in western Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District:

12:50 a.m.

Democrat Conor Lamb is declaring victory in a southwestern Pennsylvania congressional election that is rocking the political landscape ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Associated Press has not called the race. Unofficial returns show Lamb with a narrow lead over Republican Rick Saccone as absentee ballots are still being counted.

A Marine veteran, Lamb told supporters "it took a little longer than we thought, but we did it" and "Mission accepted."

Lamb thanked supporters for a team approach in the Republican-leaning district that President Donald Trump won by 20 points in 2016. Trump campaign twice for Saccone.

The special election was needed to replace Republican Tim Murphy, who resigned in October.

———

11:50 p.m.

Republican Rick Saccone says his campaign will be working through the night and into Wednesday as votes are counted in his Pennsylvania congressional race against Democrat Conor Lamb, which remains too close to call late Tuesday.

Saccone spoke to a boisterous crowd at his election night party in suburban Pittsburgh almost four hours after polls closed Tuesday night. He says his campaign isn't done fighting.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results have Lamb leading Saccone by fewer than 900 votes.

The Pittsburgh-area district has gotten national attention as a barometer of the November midterm elections.

President Donald Trump won the district by almost 20 percentage points in 2016.

——

11:40 p.m.

A top supporter of Democrat Conor Lamb says the Pennsylvania congressional candidate is asking supporters not to leave his election night party as officials count the final ballots in a race that remains too close to call.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says the campaign remains in a strong position over Republican Rick Saccone. Incomplete returns show Lamb with a lead of fewer than 900 votes, with several thousand absentee votes still to be tallied.

Many Lamb supporters already have left the election night party. Fitzgerald asked those still watching to stick around for at least another hour. Lamb is not expected to speak.

——

11:30 p.m.

State officials say there are about 3,900 absentee ballots still to be counted in the Pennsylvania congressional race between Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone, which remains too close to call late Tuesday.

Officials in the most populous of the four counties, Allegheny County, say they counted more than 4,000 absentee ballots before midnight. State officials expect Westmoreland County, the second-most populous county in the district, to include their absentee ballot count in Tuesday night's total.

More than three hours after polls closed and with 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results have Lamb leading Saccone by fewer than 900 votes.

The Pittsburgh-area district has gotten national attention as a barometer of the November midterm elections.

President Donald Trump won the district by almost 20 percentage points in 2016.

——

10:55 p.m.

The Pennsylvania congressional race between Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone remains too close to call, with local elections officials still counting absentee ballots late Tuesday.

Nearly three hours after polls closed and with 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results had Lamb leading Saccone by fewer than 100 votes.

The Pittsburgh-area district has gotten national attention as a barometer of the November midterm elections.

President Donald Trump won the district by almost 20 percentage points in 2016.

——

10:15 p.m.

Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone are locked in a tight congressional race Tuesday night, with the nation watching for clues about the upcoming midterm elections.

With 96 percent of the votes counted two hours after polls closed, the race remains too close to call.

The matchup in southwest Pennsylvania pits the strength of President Donald Trump's grasp on blue-collar America against the energy and frustrations of the political left.

Trump campaigned twice for Saccone, including one of his signature rallies during the final weekend before voting.

——

8 p.m.

Polls have closed in Pennsylvania's special congressional election between Republican Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb.

The outcome could offer signs of what's to come in November's midterm elections.

County election officials are estimating turnout of above 20 percent and potentially above 30 percent in some counties before polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

President Donald Trump dominated the district in the 2016 presidential election and offered his backing to Saccone.

Voter surveys show a close race, and a Democratic upset could rattle GOP confidence as it tries to defend its House majority.

Lamb has positioned himself as a moderate and could offer a roadmap for other Democratic candidates running in areas outside liberal strongholds.

———

5 p.m.

Rick Saccone is President Donald Trump's man to the end.

The Pennsylvania congressional candidate wants voters who haven't cast ballots yet in Tuesday's special election to know he'd go to Washington to have the president's back.

Saccone told Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business Network in an Election Day interview that Trump is "getting beat up in Washington" by the media, bureaucrats and Hollywood. Saccone says Trump "needs a good wingman."

Saccone is in a surprisingly competitive race against Democrat Conor Lamb in a Pittsburgh-area district that Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016. The seat opened last October when Republican Tim Murphy resigned amid a sex scandal.

Lamb acknowledges the intense opposition to Trump among liberal voters but says the election shouldn't be about Trump.

———

12:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump isn't the only candidate tweeting for his preferred candidate in a western Pennsylvania special congressional election.

The labor vote will be key in determining whether Lamb can upset Republican Rick Saccone in a district with an estimated 87,000 union household voters.

Former Republican Tim Murphy enjoyed union backing in the district, making it hard for any Democrat to defeat him. Rank-and-file workers helped Trump carry the district by 20 percentage points in 2016.

But unions have lined up behind Lamb and hammered Saccone as a union foe during his tenure as a state lawmaker.

———

10:40 a.m.

Republican Rick Saccone says he's not surprised he's in a close race with Democrat Conor Lamb in a southwest Pennsylvania congressional district that President Donald Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016.

He says Democrats are "throwing everything they can at this race" because it's a rare open seat.

Saccone spoke to reporters shortly before casting his ballot Tuesday near his home in rural Allegheny County south of Pittsburgh.

The 60-year-old state lawmaker has struggled to win the support that former Republican Rep. Tim Murphy managed during his career. Murphy resigned in October.

Saccone has tried to excite voters by embracing Trump. The candidate campaigned with him twice.

A Lamb upset would boost Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans have a 24-seat advantage in the House pending the outcome in Pennsylvania.

———

8:30 a.m.

Democrat Conor Lamb has voted in Pennsylvania's special election for the 18th Congressional District. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, tweeted his support for Republican Rick Saccone.

Lamb told reporters Tuesday he doesn't think the election is a referendum on President Donald Trump.

Trump won the Pittsburgh-area district handily in 2016, but Tuesday's race is said to be a toss-up.

On Tuesday, the president tweeted, "The Economy is raging, at an all time high, and is set to get even better. Jobs and wages up. Vote for Rick Saccone and keep it going." Trump had appeared at a rally for Saccone over the weekend.

Lamb has positioned himself as a moderate and could offer a roadmap for other Democratic candidates running in areas outside liberal strongholds.

The winner replaces Republican Tim Murphy, who resigned in October amid a sex scandal

Lamb declined to make any predictions about the outcome, but said his team "worked really hard."

——

7 a.m.

Polls are open in western Pennsylvania as voters settle a high profile special congressional race being watched for clues to the upcoming midterm elections.

Republican Rick Saccone is trying to stave off an upset by Democrat Conor Lamb in a Pittsburgh-area district that backed President Donald Trump by 20 percentage points in 2016.

Former Republican Rep. Tim Murphy had represented the area. He resigned last fall.

Democrats need to flip 24 Republican-held seats for a House majority, and they'd not been counting on Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District.

Trump has put his full force behind Saccone.

Lamb has a run as a moderate with considerable union backing. That's a key group in this industrial region. Lamb has also promised not to back Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi for House speaker.

———

12:40 a.m.

Voters in western Pennsylvania are set to choose between Republican Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb in a special congressional election that could offer signs of what's to come in November's midterm elections.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

President Donald Trump dominated the district in 2016 and has offered his backing to Saccone.

But the Republican nominee finds himself risking an upset that would rattle GOP confidence as it tries to defend its House majority. The White House has blamed the potential loss on Saccone.

Lamb has positioned himself as a moderate and could offer a roadmap for other Democratic candidates running in areas outside liberal strongholds.

The winner replaces Republican Tim Murphy, who resigned in October amid a sex scandal.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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